Appearances

Title	Role	Year	Approx. Age
Loverboy	Mark	2005	41
The Outsiders	Dallas 'Dally' Winston	1983	19
Rumble Fish	Rusty James	1983	19
My Bodyguard	Melvin Moody	1980	16
Little Darlings	Randy	1980	16
Over The Edge	Richie	1979	15

If it?s possible for a baby to swagger out of the womb, Matt Dillon would have been the tyke to do it. Born into an upper middle-class Irish-American family that would eventually produce six kids, young Matt never had any aspirations for acting stardom. But he had the bad boy attitude for it down pat by puberty.

In 1979, casting director Vic Ramos was combing suburban New York high school drama departments looking for unknowns to feature in a low-budget, teens-in-trouble film called Over The Edge (1979). Ramos had struck out at Mamaroneck High School, or so he thought, until he spotted fifteen-year-old Mr. Dillon skipping class and hanging out in a hallway. The rest is cinema history.

Though the movie ended up being a box-office bomb, it would later be elevated by critics to cult status. But without question, that sadly small-time picture did launch what would become a hugely successful career for Matt. High school would be forever ditched, as he went on to co-star in the coming-of-age comedy Little Darlings (1980) - opposite Kristy McNichol. This pairing prompted one reviewer to remark that the biggest problem with the film was that sixteen and sexy Matt was prettier than his leading lady!

That fact was no doubt an asset in his snagging bigger and better roles in such classics as My Bodyguard (1980), The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), and his last teen-character portrayal in The Flamingo Kid (1984). But unlike so many of his young acting peers, Matt was able to make the transition to adult parts smoothly. Beginning with Target (1985), opposite the great Gene Hackman, all the way to an Oscar nomination in 2005 for his stellar performance in Crash (2004).

And finally, for all you die-hard Matt Dillon fans, here?s a bit of fascinating film trivia. How many of you know that Matt was offered the starring role in The Blue Lagoon (1980) - but declined to take it because of all the nudity required? Hmmm... We shall now close here for a major cry-fest.